Traditionally, the steerage was "that part of the ship next below the quarter-deck, immediately before the bulkhead of the great cabin in most ships of war, [also identified as] the portion of the 'tween-decks just before the gun-room bulkhead." The name originates from the steering tackle which ran through the space ...

What does the term steerage refer to?

1 : the act or practice of steering broadly : direction. 2 [from its originally being located near the rudder] : a section of inferior accommodations in a passenger ship for passengers paying the lowest fares.

What did it mean to travel in steerage?

On the great ocean steamships the term "steerage" was used for any part of a ship allotted to those passengers who traveled at the cheapest rate, usually the lower decks in the ship.